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Board of Elections

Orange County · Board of Elections
Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Regular meeting Elections and districts

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved 3Approval of October 22, 2024 Board Minutes Approved unanimously
  2. Approved 7Board Action: Overseas Absentee Ballot Review Approved 193 overseas ballots, unanimous
  3. Approved 8Board Action: Military Absentee Ballot Review Approved unanimously

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Orange County's elections board meets weekly during the fall election season to open, inspect and vote on absentee ballots returned by mail, accepting some and rejecting others under state rules on witness signatures, photo identification and voter eligibility. Each session also carries an early-voting turnout update from the director and a public comment period.

Ballots are sorted into civilian, overseas and military categories. Board members review a sample of the batch staff recommend for approval, then vote the civilian, overseas and military groups separately before approved ballots go through a second tabulator and get sealed for the eventual count.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

The board approved 1,114 civilian absentee ballots: 1,092 after a bipartisan review of a 250-ballot sample of staff's recommended batch, plus 22 more once photo ID documents that had been sealed inside the return envelopes were found to meet requirements. It voted to disapprove 31 civilian ballots: 28 for incomplete witness information, two from voters registered in another county, and one returned unsealed; staff had already contacted those voters and reissued their ballot packages. The minutes do not record the tally on the disapproval vote itself.

The board also approved 193 overseas ballots and 27 military ballots, both unanimous votes; one emailed overseas ballot remains on hold because the voter printed it without listing all the races. Approved ballots ran through the county's DS850 tabulator, which reached a count of 4,209, and the newly voted ballots went into two numbered security envelopes sealed and signed by the board. Two residents spoke during public comment, and the director briefed the board on precinct judge vacancies for Election Day.

How the votes went

The board approved the October 22 minutes, 1,092 civilian absentee ballots, 193 overseas ballots and 27 military ballots by unanimous votes, and separately accepted 22 pending civilian ballots once their sealed photo ID documents checked out. A motion to disapprove 31 civilian ballots also carried; the minutes do not record that vote's tally.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (11)

Procedural · 4Other · 3Staff or committee report · 2Minutes approval · 1Discussion item · 1
  1. 1 Call to Order
    Procedural
    Chair Jamie Cox opened the meeting.
  2. 2 Public Comment
    Procedural
    Two residents addressed the board; the minutes do not describe what they said.
  3. 3 Approval of October 22, 2024 Board Minutes
    Minutes approval
    The board approved the minutes of its October 22 meeting as submitted.
    Approved unanimously
  4. 4 Director's Report: Early Voting Ballots Cast to Date
    Staff or committee report Elections and districts
    The director reported 51,088 ballots cast early as of October 28 across six sites, led by Orange Works with 11,892. Orange Works uses 8GB flash drives with an estimated 16,100-ballot capacity and is expected to reach that limit before early voting ends; the director will deploy a spare tabulator there before voting resumes October 30.
  5. 5 Director's Report: Absentee By-Mail Ballots Cast to Date
    Staff or committee report Elections and districts
    Staff recommended approval of 1,170 civilian, 193 overseas and 27 military absentee ballots, with 22 civilian ballots pending review because their photo ID documents were possibly sealed inside the envelope, and recommended disapproving 31 civilian ballots.
  6. 6 Board Action: Civilian Absentee Ballot Review
    Other Elections and districts
    The board found the 22 pending ballots met requirements, approved 1,092 more civilian ballots after a bipartisan 250-ballot quality-control sample, and voted to disapprove 31 civilian ballots for witness, residency and sealing defects.
    1,114 civilian ballots approved, 31 disapproved
  7. 7 Board Action: Overseas Absentee Ballot Review
    Other Elections and districts
    The board approved 192 overseas ballots after bipartisan review, then amended the motion to add a 193rd ballot once a voter was found not to have been checked in. One emailed ballot printed without all races listed is on hold while staff confirm the voter's intent.
    Approved 193 overseas ballots, unanimous
  8. 8 Board Action: Military Absentee Ballot Review
    Other Elections and districts
    The board approved 27 military absentee ballots after bipartisan review of duplicated ballots.
    Approved unanimously
  9. 9 Ballot Tabulation and Sealing
    Procedural Elections and districts
    Staff ran the approved ballots through the DS850 tabulator, ending at a count of 4,209, and the director sealed the meeting's voted ballots into two security envelopes signed by the board, numbered N55,607 and N55,608.
  10. 10 Board Discussion: Election Day Precinct Judge Vacancies
    Discussion item Elections and districts
    The director shared a list of precinct judge substitution appointments made under state law to fill Election Day vacancies.
  11. 11 Adjournment
    Procedural
    The board adjourned on a unanimous motion.

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